With the support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President's International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) program, Professor Swadhin K. Mandal of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata visited the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC), CAS, on Aug 20, and delivered an academic lecture.

In his lecture entitled Catalysis by p Electrons, Mandal pointed out that conventional catalytic systems rely heavily on the d-orbital electrons of transition metals to drive chemical reactions. Transition metals, however, share inherent limitations: many are scarce, expensive, and some are toxic. To break through this bottleneck, his research group has taken an unconventional path — developing metal-free catalytic strategies built on the p-electrons of main-group elements.

Mandal systematically presented his group's innovative work on low-valent main-group elements for the reduction and functionalization of carbon dioxide, demonstrating new routes for converting the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into high-value-added chemicals without any transition-metal catalyst. This line of research opens up a brand-new direction for the recycling of carbon resources and for greener, more sustainable chemical synthesis.

The lecture was chaired by Academician You Shuli. Following the event, Hu Jinbo, director of SIOC, presented Mandal with the PIFI Distinguished Scientist honorary certificate.

Mandal expressed his sincere gratitude to SIOC for the invitation and to the CAS PIFI program for its generous support.

During his two-week academic visit to the CAS under the PIFI program, Mandal will engage in in-depth exchanges with SIOC researchers. The visit is expected to invigorate academic interaction between SIOC and IISER Kolkata in the field of main-group element catalysis, lay a solid foundation for future substantive research cooperation between the two institutions, and contribute to the development of new green and sustainable methods in organic synthesis.

The visit highlights the growing role of the CAS PIFI program in building bridges between Chinese research institutions and leading scientists around the world. By bringing globally recognized scholars to its institutes, PIFI continues to create new channels for high-level academic exchange and to lay the groundwork for substantive, long-term international research collaboration.